# Boldklubben Frem

Boldklubben Frem (also known as Frem, BK Frem or BK Frem Copenhagen) is a Danish sports club based in the Valby-Sydhavnen area of Copenhagen. It is best known for its semi-professional football team and its youth academy. Since its foundation in 1886, Frem has won the Danish Championships six times and the Danish Cup twice. Until the disastrous bankruptcy in 1993, Frem had played in the top division all but six seasons. After the bankruptcy the club fought its way back to the top of Danish football, but in 2010 it went bankrupt again and was demoted to the Copenhagen Series—the fifth tier in the Danish league system. After two back to back promotions, the club now participates in the Danish 2nd Division, the third tier.
The club also has a youth and amateur football branch, as well as a cricket team. It is also involved in the running of the KIES sports boarding school.

## History
### Early years

BK Frem were founded as Fremskridtsklubbens Cricketklub on 17 July 1886 by a group of seditious young men from the then government hostile Venstre Reform Party, as a cloak for political activities. In 1887 football was introduced and the name was changed to Boldklubben Frem, stiftet af Fremskridtsklubben (lit. Danish: The Ball Club Forward, founded by the Progress Club).
In the first two years of the life of the club, only two sports matches were played, but when the Danish Football Association introduced a football tournament in 1889, the club was invited to participate, and in 1890 Frem became the first Danish club to beat KB in a football match. In 1902 Frem became unofficial Danish champions when they won the league played under the auspices of the Danish FA. This was the first ever senior title won by the club.
In 1905, the club moved to its own field at Enghavevej, Vesterbro, obtaining its distinct working class profile. To this day, both the Social Democrats and the Union of Metalworkers holds Frem sponsorships. In 1912, Frem joined the representative team Stævnet which arranged lucrative exhibition matches and played a decisive role in Danish football politics.

### Palmy days

In the years 1923–1944, Frem won six Danish Championships.

### Division Yo-Yoing

Since 1983 Frem had been battling economically, and in 1993 saw themselves demoted to the Danmarksserien following a bankruptcy, which was due to a debt of DKK 8,500,000 and allegations of fraud.
Following a short but expensive spell in the Superliga in 2003–2004, Frem were once again on the verge of bankruptcy with a debt of DKK 10,000,000.
In 2010, after years of uncertain economy, the club once again went bankrupt and was demoted to the Copenhagen Series.

## Supporters

Frem's official supportergroup is called "BK Frem Support". It is Denmark's oldest supporters club, formed in 1986. Frem fans are especially known for unconditional love and support. Even when demoted to the fifth tier, attendances almost didn't drop.

## Home ground

Frem play their home matches at the modest and somewhat worn-down, municipality-owned Valby Idrætspark.
In the early years, Frem were located on Østerbro in Copenhagen, playing its matches at Blegdamsfælleden, alongside its main rivals in the early years; AB and KB. In 1905 Frem moved to its own field at Enghavevej, Vesterbro. Being a field-owning club gave Frem the advantage of entry fees. Its location however lead to some muttering from football fans who found it to be too far out of town.
In 1942, Frem moved to Valby Idrætspark, where the current main stand was erected in 1965. Throughout the years a lot of matches has been played at Idrætsparken. It is unclear when this tradition was discontinued.
During the 2000s, there were several plans for a new stadium, but they were never realized.
In 2006 the Copenhagen Municipality predicted that the main stand of the current Valby Idrætspark would last another 5–10 years. As of April 2007 major investments in the current stadium are put on hold as a decision on the construction of a new stadium is being awaited. A final decision is expected was April 2008.
Hans Hermansen, then managing director of BK Frem, has indicated that according to the plan, the construction of a new stadium should commence no later than 2010. However, the municipality estimated 2012. Frem suggested that it might be completed by 2016.
In January 2016 the municipality ordered a renovation of the existing stadium, worth 3 mio €, thus cancelling plans for a new stadium in the near future. The renovation is due ultimo 2017.

## Sponsorships

After the clubs bankruptcy in summer 2010, Frem got a helping hand from Danish brewery giant Carlsberg. Being from the same city they signed on as main sponsor, because they saw it as a chance to help the fellow Valby-based brand back on its feet. In July 2013 an extension for three years was announced. On 11 June 2016 it was prolonged for another three years. In June 2015 Frem announced they would switch back from Diadora to their old shirt partner, Hummel, starting from the 2015/2016 season.

### Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

| Period | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| 1976–1977 | Adidas | GaJol |
| 1978 | Hummel | Lee Cooper |
| 1979 | Hummel | Individual |
| 1980–1983 | Hummel | Mamiya Camera |
| 1984 | Hummel | SJL Banken |
| 1985–1986 | Hummel | Bilka |
| 1987 | Nike | Nordania |
| 1988–1989 | Adidas | Nordania |
| 1990 | Adidas | KTAS |
| 1990-1991 | Adidas | Zürich Forsikring |
| 1992–1994 | Adidas | Alka |
| 1995–1998 | Beltona | Støvsuger Banden |
| 1998–2002 | Hummel | Støvsuger Banden |
| 2002 | Hummel | 3H Udlejning |
| 2003–2005 | Hummel | Altima |
| 2005–2007 | Hummel | Ramirent |
| 2007–2010 | Hummel | GB |
| 2010–2013 | Hummel | Carlsberg |
| 2013–2015 | Diadora | Carlsberg |
| 2015– | Hummel | Carlsberg |

## Honours

* Danish Champions
** Winners (6): 1922–23, 1930–31, 1932–33, 1935–36, 1940–41, 1943–44
** Runner-up (9): 1929–30, 1934–35, 1936–37, 1937–38, 1947–48, 1958, 1966, 1967, 1976
** 3rd placed (6): 1933–34, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1968, 1971, 1991–92
* Danish Cup
** Winners (2): 1955–56, 1978
** Runner-up (3): 1969, 1971, 1981
* Unofficial Danish Champions
** Winners (1): 1901–02
** Runner-up (3): 1898–99, 1900–01, 1902–03
* Copenhagen Champions
** Winners (3): 1903–04, 1923, 1933
** Runner-up (8): 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911, 1918, 1922, 1929, 1937
* KBUs Pokalturnering
** Winners (6): 1925, 1927, 1938, 1940, 1943, 1946
** Runner-up (9): 1913, 1918, 1919, 1922, 1924, 1930, 1934, 1939, 1944
* Baneklubberne Cup
** Winners (1): 1911
* UEFA Intertoto Cup
** Winners (2): 1969, 1977

## Club officials

    As of 17 January 2025
Chairman: Jon Herstad Head Coach: Daniel "Elly" Pedersen Assistant Coach: Søren Weibel Goalkeeping Coach: Kasper Juhl Jensen Fitness Coach: Mark Olsson Equipment Manager : Sven Kurzweg U19 Team Coach: Jamaa Aboualou U17 Team Coach: Anders Broløs U16 Team Coach: Bülent Ergüc U15 Team Coach: Jamal Aztout U14 Team Coach: Dzevdet Sainoski U13 Team Coach: Ali Mahmoud U12 Team Coach: Mickey Spens U11 Team Coach: Martin Gammelgaard

### Head Coach history

| Name | Nationality | From | To | Honours | Comments |
| Daniel "Elly" Pedersen | Denmark | 17 January 2025 | current | | |
| Henrik Gundersen | Denmark | 17 June 2023 | 19 November 2024 | | |
| Christoffer Sick Balle | Denmark | 2 December 2022 | 6 June 2023 | | |
| René Henriksen | Denmark | 27 January 2020 | 21 November 2022 | | |
| Allan Ravn | Denmark | 20 June 2019 | 27 January 2020 | | |
| Lasse Holmgaard | Denmark | 1 July 2018 | 13 May 2019 | | |
| Martin E. Jensen | Denmark | 14 August 2017 | 30 June 2018 | | Caretaker |
| Danny Jung | Denmark | 1 January 2017 | 14 August 2017 | | |
| René Henriksen and Michael Mio Nielsen | Denmark | 10 October 2016 | 31 December 2016 | | Caretakers |
| Henrik Gundersen | Denmark | 29 April 2014 | 10 October 2016 | | Originally had contract until end of 2017 |
| Henrik Jensen | Denmark | 1 July 2012 | 29 April 2014 | | Originally had contract until summer 2014 |
| John 'Tune' Kristiansen | Denmark | 18 June 2012 | 23 June 2012 | | Caretaker for one league match |
| Peer F. Hansen | Denmark | 1 January 2012 | 18 June 2012 | Promoted to the third tier | |
| John 'Tune' Kristiansen | Denmark | 27 July 2010 | 30 December 2011 | Promoted to the fourth tier | Originally had contract until summer 2012 |
| René Heitmann | Denmark | 17 July 2010 | 27 July 2010 | | Never coached the team in a match |
| Christian Andersen | Denmark | 11 July 2009 | 19 June 2010 | Relegated to the third tier | Club went bankrupt after the season |
| Anders Theil | Denmark | 7 November 2005 | 7 July 2009 | | Originally had contract until summer 2011 |
| Ebbe Skovdahl | Denmark | 11 October 2003 | 6 November 2005 | Relegated to the second tier | Originally had contract until summer 2007 |
| Ole Mørk | Denmark | 15 October 2001 | 10 October 2003 | Promoted to the first tier | Originally had contract until end of 2004 |
| Johnny Petersen | Denmark | 5 May 1998 | 14 October 2001 | | Originally had contract until end of 2001 |
| John 'Tune' Kristiansen | Denmark | 1996 | 4 May 1998 | Promoted to the second tier | |

## Season-by-season results
### Recent years

| Season | Pos | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
| 15-16: 2nd Division Promotion Group | #4/12 | 34 | 16 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 27 | 22 | +5 |
| 14-15: 2nd Division East | #2/16 | 61 | 30 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 56 | 27 | +29 |
| 13-14: 2nd Division East | #8/16 | 38 | 30 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 46 | 44 | +2 |
| 12-13: 2nd Division East | #7/16 | 48 | 30 | 14 | 6 | 10 | 45 | 40 | +5 |
| 11–12: Denmark Series Pool 1 | #1/14 | 51 | 26 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 54 | 29 | +25 |
| 10–11: Copenhagen Series | #1/14 | 67 | 26 | 21 | 4 | 1 | 92 | 18 | +74 |
| 09-10: 1st Division | #15/16 | 28 | 30 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 38 | 59 | −21 |
| 08-09: 1st Division | #11/16 | 36 | 30 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 41 | 53 | −12 |
| 07-08: 1st Division | #11/16 | 33 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 15 | 46 | 54 | −8 |
| 06-07: 1st Division | #5/16 | 50 | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 43 | +5 |
| 05-06: 1st Division | #10/16 | 40 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 47 | 42 | +5 |
| 04-05: 1st Division | #3/16 | 59 | 30 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 61 | 30 | +31 |
| 03-04: Superliga | #11/12 | 27 | 33 | 8 | 3 | 22 | 40 | 65 | −25 |
| 02-03: 1st Division | #2/16 | 58 | 30 | 18 | 4 | 8 | 64 | 43 | +21 |

### League status
#### Post 1993 bankruptcy and demotion

Green denotes the highest level of football in Denmark; yellow the second-highest; red the third-highest; black the fourth-highest; grey the fifth-highest.

#### All time

Green denotes the highest level of football in Denmark; yellow the second-highest; red the third-highest; black the fourth-highest; grey the fifth-highest.

## European competitions record

| Season | Competition | Round | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
| 1967–68 | Inter-Cities Fairs Cup | 1R | Athletic Bilbao | 0–1 | 2–3 | 2–4 |
| 1969–70 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | FC St. Gallen | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| 1972–73 | UEFA Cup | 1R | FC Sochaux | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 |
| 1972–73 | UEFA Cup | 2R | FC Twente | 0–5 | 0–4 | 0–9 |
| 1977–78 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Grasshoppers | 0–2 | 1–6 | 1–8 |
| 1978–79 | UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | 1R | AS Nancy-Lorraine | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–4 |
| 1992–93 | UEFA Cup | 1R | Neuchâtel Xamax | 4–1 | 2–2 | 6–3 |
| 1992–93 | UEFA Cup | 2R | Real Zaragoza | 0–1 | 1–5 | 1–6 |

## Cricket
### Club

The Cricket branch is one of the oldest in Denmark.
It is still active and at the moment have a team in the 2nd-best tier.

### Officials

Chairman: Kingsley Peiris

### Honors

* Copenhagen Champions
** Winners (2): 1894, 1898

## Footnotes and references

* ↑ Following an assassination attempt on Council President Estrup in the fall of 1885 restrictions on political freedom had been initiated. Friis, M. P. (1887–1905). "Estrup, Jacob Brønnum Scavenius". Dansk biografisk Lexikon. Vol. IV. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag. pp. 614–615. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
* ↑ Dennis Drejer: Tilbage til FREM-tiden, Berlingske Tidende, 12 November 1995, pp. 24,
* ↑ Andreas Kraul: 'Fodbold: Frem kører videre', Dagbladet Politiken, 15 December 2004, section 2, pp. 10,
* ↑ Hans-Henrik Hare: 'Så er det slut: Frem konkurs!', Ekstra Bladet, 28 June 2010
* ↑ Gebuhr, Mogens (18 January 2006). "De første svære år 1886–1905". Boldklubben Frem. Archived from the original on 6 April 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
* ↑ "Valby Vision". BT.dk (in Danish). 14 February 2004.
* ↑ Kultur- og Fritidsforvaltningen (November 2006). "Forslag til udviklingsplan for københavnske fodboldstadions" (PDF). Copenhagen Municipality. Retrieved 21 April 2007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
* ↑ Carsten Haurum, Mads Kamp Hansen and Finn Rudaizky (28 March 2007). "Spørgsmål til skriftlig besvarelse stillet den 23. marts 2008 af Finn Rudaizky vedrørende Valby Idrætspark" (PDF). Copenhagen Municipality. Retrieved 26 April 2007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
* ↑ Hermansen, Hans (2006). Sponsorguiden (PDF). Boldklubben Frem. p. 2.
* ↑ Kultur- og Fritidsforvaltningen (November 2006). "Forslag til udviklingsplan for københavnske fodboldstadions, Bilag 3. Stadionprioriteringer" (PDF). Copenhagen Municipality. Retrieved 21 April 2007. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
* ↑ Kassinger, Jens Chr. (April 2007). "Skal vort klubhus give plads for billige boliger... og om udviklingen i Valby Idrætspark?" (PDF). Boldklubben Frem (in Danish). Boldklubben Frem. pp. 24–25. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 26 April 2007.
* ↑ "Renovation Awarded". Estate (in Danish). Archived from the original on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
* ↑ "Municipality Tender" (in Danish).
* ↑ "Carlsberg new main sponsor at Frem". carlsbergdanmark.dk (in Danish). 22 September 2010. Retrieved 31 December 2011.
* ↑ "Sponsor falls in place". bkfrem.dk (in Danish). 25 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
* ↑ "Carlsberg prolongs". bkfrem.dk (in Danish). 11 June 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
* ↑ "New shirt deal". bkfrem.dk (in Danish). 17 June 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
* ↑ "Trænerstab, Boldklubben Frem". bkfrem.dk. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
* ↑ BK Frem, 17 January 2025
* ↑ Ny cheftræner i Boldklubben FREM BK Frem, 17 June 2023
* ↑ Henrik Gundersen stopper i Boldklubben FREM BK Frem, 19 November 2024
* ↑ Ny cheftræner i Boldklubben FREM BK Frem, 2 December 2022
* ↑ Christoffer Balle rykker op i det sportslige udvalg BK Frem, 6 June 2023
* ↑ Cheftræner Allan Ravn og Boldklubben FREM ophæver samarbejdet BK Frem, 27 January 2020
* ↑ Træner og sportschef stopper BK Frem, 21 November 2022
* ↑ Her er FREMs nye cheftræner BK Frem, 20 June 2019
* ↑ Cheftræner Allan Ravn og Boldklubben FREM ophæver samarbejdet BK Frem, 27 January 2020
* ↑ Lasse Holmgaard er ny cheftræner i Boldklubben FREM Archived 29 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine BK Frem, 24 May 2018
* ↑ FREM og Lasse Holmgaard ophæver samarbejdet BK Frem, 13 May 2019
* ↑ Udskiftning på trænerposten Archived 15 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine BK Frem, 14 August 2017
* ↑ Ny cheftræner: Danny Jung BK Frem, 9 November 2016
* ↑ Frem: Michael Mio kommer med ny energi bold.dk, 10 October 2016
* ↑ Henrik Jensen stopper i Frem nu bold.dk, 29 April 2014
* ↑ "Gundersen extends contract 2yrs". frem.dk, Dec 18 2015 (in Danish).
* ↑ "Boldklubben FREM - Cheftræner henrik Jensen stopper". Archived from the original on 30 April 2014. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
* ↑ "Peer takes control at Frem". bold.dk (in Danish). 21 December 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "Old friend new coach in Frem". bold.dk (in Danish). 22 July 2010. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "Andersen Frem Coach". TV2 Sporten (in Danish). 7 July 2009. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "Frem extend Theils contract". dr.dk (in Danish). 30 April 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "Ebbe Skovdahl is Mørk's successor". B.T. (in Danish). 11 October 2003. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "Mørch is back". Berlingske Tidende (in Danish). 25 July 2001. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "New coach in Frem". Dagbladet Politiken (in Danish). 15 October 2001. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
* ↑ "Cricket at Frem" (in Danish).